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Has anyone only had one attack of pancreatitis?

Posted , 5 users are following.

candice124
candice124

Hi Guys Ive had one attack in August. Idiopathic. All tests show nothing. EUS showed a few granules on pancreas. I still have ongoing pain though. Lipase came down but not fully to normal. If I gfast a few days lipase comes down. Drs cant agree as to whether I am chronic or not because the scans are clear. Is there anyone who has only had one attack? how did you avoid more attacks? Other than low fat diet and no alcohol. IS there anyone who know for sure if one attack just means you will suffer forever. I cant find any hopeful stories of people who had one attack and just carried on with life as normal. Any advice would be appreciated. Im worried for the future. How do I keep my job with this pain?

0 likes, 7 replies

7 Replies

  • NixKiwiWolf
    NixKiwiWolf candice124

    Posted

    I'm afraid no-one can say what your future holds. Some people have one attack and never have another and some people go on to have further attacks. Everyone is different and pancreas problems affect each individual differently. I would stick with the low fat diet and no alcohol though - once you've had one attack, not doing that can increase your chances of having another one. My docs cant agree if I'm chronic or not either and I've found the low fat, no alcohol regime is keeping the lid on the pain and any further attacks - so far. It's not easy but its do-able and there is a lot of lovely low fat food to eat out there. It does make a big change to eating out and socialising though which a lot of people can't sustain. I see so many on here who lapse their diet or drink again then wonder why the pain comes back!

    • candice124
      candice124 NixKiwiWolf

      Posted

      Lapsing my diet doesnt bother me... I will never do that. my issue is that I weigh 85 punds-39kgs. Im grossly under weight. My Dr told me that If I dont eat normally again I will die from malnutrition. I am eating healthy though but I strated out very thin to begin with. Im afraid to risk the eating normally considering I am still in pain. I also find I am hungry all the time and eating to much hurts so I am taking protein shakes. may I ask other than no pain, do you feel any other strange digestive symtoms since your attack.  and how long agao was your attack? Do you know the cause? I never drank ever anyway so alcohol was never an issue for me. Thank you so much fro your reply!!
    • NixKiwiWolf
      NixKiwiWolf candice124

      Posted

      Wow, you are underweight - keeping eating little and often if you can. Your doctor or a nutritionist should be able to help you. And keep your water intake up. I feel hungry most of the time even though I feel I'm always eating - having hardly any fat in your diet means you never feel really full.

      My attack was in May (oh, the pain!) and I went through loads of tests - luckily they discovered it was my pancreas reasonably quickly. No idea what kicked it off as I didn't have any gallbladder or stones issue, ate healthily and didn't drink much alcohol. Just unlucky, I guess. Docs still can't decide how to label it yet as my pancreas is inflamed around the top but everything else is normal, apart from my blood sugar which has gone up. I did have digestive issues at the beginning (diarrhoea, pain) but that's all settled down now. I have to be careful with food as any fat over a tiny amount can set off pain. I try not to take any painkillers if I can help it - yoga, heat pad and deep breathing can all help too.

  • caseyh
    caseyh candice124

    Posted

    I am very new to Acute Pacreatitis, I was diagnosed with ny first attack in Sept 2016, I underwent gallbladder removal in an effort to do damage control on 11/2/16 to have another attack 11/15/16. So in short there is no way to determine if this is a one and done kind of deal. I am so sorry and I completely understand your concern. one month shy of my last attack I have had no alcohol  and pretty much a pescetarian low fat diet, and I feel good. You must be very careful of what you consume your body always gives you signs when you ingest something it rejects. My doctors tell me the cause of my attack was gallstones but I think it was a combination of the alcohol and gallstones. I wish you wellness now and in the future, I hope this info helps a bit.
  • jimmy94991
    jimmy94991 candice124

    Posted

    Candice

    Your situation shows alot like me . I had my first attack in July 2016 . Since then a lot of test , I also had an Eus ran and it was clean . Expect my Gallbladder had sludge and crystal so they want to take out my gall bladder . I have had a lot of digestive issues even had colitis in sept . Hang in there of folks seem to overcome this nightmare . You will be in our prayers.

    • candice124
      candice124 jimmy94991

      Posted

      Thank you Jimmy. May i ask, have you been in pain on and off since the attack? Do you know if your lipase ever came down? I find that i am constantly having yo fast for a day to prevent another attack. Because the pain gets so bad. Im on all the facebook groups for pancreatitis. Not sure if you ate on them but they all strongly advise against having gallbladder out as it causes more attacks. If you can join pancreatitis pals on facebook and send Robin Fuller a message about having gallbladder out. He will explain in detail. What i cant understand is this... if weve had one attack is it automatically chronic due to the fact that we never heal?
  • jimmy94991
    jimmy94991 candice124

    Posted

    Yes my levels came down but pain is constant in back and left lower ab . Like I said my test all good other than gall bladder they feel my gall blAdder probably caused my first attack as my liver enzymes went three times above normal which I have been told is a symptom of a gallbladder caused pancretitis. Have had 3 docs one pancreatic specialist say to take it out. So sorta scared . Anyway it's where I am I will look for Facebook group. Keep me informed

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